Field of the Invention
Playing or swimming in a pool is a warm weather activity enjoyed by many; adults and children both enjoy aquatic activities. Summer time is often family pool time. However, for the very young the initial forays into a swimming pool can be a frightening and dangerous activity.
Floats especially design for infants or young children are often used by parents to reduce the risk for their children when playing in a pool. Typical floats are inflatable donut shaped devices with the infant suspended in the center hole with their lower body in the water and the upper body out of the water. There is often a harness or other type of seat suspended below the floating donut to hold the child in place. Some of the floats provide canopies for protection from the sun.
Some inflatable donut style floats are designed to fit around the infant's neck and keep the head out of water while the rest of the infant's body is submerged.
However, some infants are fearful of the water and are afraid to have any part of their body submerged. The present invention is a device that allows a parent to take their infant into the pool with them without the infant being in the water. As the infant grows less fearful of the water, the disclosed device can be easily modified to allow the infants legs to enter the water while keeping them secure on the float. After growing more use to being partially in the water, the infant can graduate to a float that allows for more of the body to be submersed.
The invention disclosed in this application can also be used as an aquatic exercise device, most commonly referred to a kickboard. The parent can place their child in the seat portion of the invention and then exercise with the device functioning as a kickboard all the while keeping the child in their immediate presence.
Description of Related Art
The Combination Child Float/Adult Aquatic Exercise Device (U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,052 issued Jun. 16, 1998 to Martha C. Metro and Naomi R. Fine) describes a device that is a combination kickboard for an adult and a floatation device for a child. This invention submerges the lower portion of the child in the water allowing for the torso to be above water. Unlike the present invention, there is no provision for the child to remain out of the water when using the device.